Vehicle air conditioning system

Abstract

A vehicle air conditioning system includes: an air conditioning duct for allowing air from a vehicle interior to flow therethrough; and an air conditioning device disposed within the air conditioning duct. The air conditioning device includes: a honeycomb structure having an outer peripheral wall and partition walls disposed on an inner side of the outer peripheral wall, the partition walls defining a plurality of cells, each of the cells extending from a first end face to a second end face to form a flow path, at least the partition walls being made of a material having a PTC property; and a cooling member disposed over the outer peripheral wall of the honeycomb structure, the cooling member forming a flow path between the honeycomb structure and the cooling member, the flow path allowing a refrigerant to flow therethrough.

1 . A vehicle air conditioning system, comprising:
 an air conditioning duct for allowing air from a vehicle interior to flow therethrough; and   an air conditioning device disposed within the air conditioning duct,   wherein the air conditioning device comprises: a honeycomb structure having an outer peripheral wall and partition walls disposed on an inner side of the outer peripheral wall, the partition walls defining a plurality of cells, each of the cells extending from a first end face to a second end face to form a flow path, at least the partition walls being made of a material having a PTC property; and a cooling member disposed over the outer peripheral wall of the honeycomb structure, the cooling member forming a flow path between the honeycomb structure and the cooling member, the flow path allowing a refrigerant to flow therethrough.   
     
     
         2 . The vehicle air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the air conditioning device further comprises a dehumidifying layer formed on each surface of the partition walls. 
     
     
         3 . The vehicle air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the flow path for allowing the refrigerant to flow is connected to a heat pump cycle. 
     
     
         4 . The vehicle air conditioning system according to  claim 3 , further comprising a control unit for controlling the air conditioning device and the heat pump cycle in response to an operation mode. 
     
     
         5 . The vehicle air conditioning system according to  claim 3 ,
 wherein the air conditioning duct has two or more branched paths,   wherein the air conditioning device is disposed in each of the two or more branched paths,   wherein each of the two or more branched paths comprises: an inflow path for allowing the air to flow into the vehicle interior on a downstream side of the air conditioning device; and an outflow path for allowing the air to flow out to a vehicle exterior, and each of the two or more branched paths comprises a switching valve capable of switching the flow of the air between the inflow path and the outflow path, and   wherein the heat pump cycle comprises a condenser for performing heat exchange between heat of the refrigerant and the air in the air conditioning duct connected to the vehicle interior on the downstream side of the air conditioning device.   
     
     
         6 . The vehicle air conditioning system according to  claim 5 , wherein the operation mode of the air conditioning device comprises:
 a dehumidification mode wherein the air is dehumidified by controlling the switching valves in all of the branched paths to allow the air to flow into the inflow path to circulate the air through the air conditioning device; and   a dehumidification and regeneration mode wherein the air is dehumidified by controlling the switching valve in a part of the branched paths to allow the air to flow into the inflow path to circulate the air through the air conditioning device, and the humidified layer is regenerated by controlling the switching valve in the remaining branched paths to allow the air to flow out to the outflow path to circulate the air through the air conditioning device while heating the air conditioning device.   
     
     
         7 . The vehicle air conditioning system according to  claim 5 , wherein the heat pump cycle further comprises:
 a compressor for compressing and discharging the refrigerant;   an outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and outside air;   at least one expansion valve for expanding the refrigerant;   an outflow path internal heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and the heated air flowing through the outflow path;   wherein the operation mode of the heat pump cycle comprises:   a cooling operation mode wherein the air conditioning device is cooled to cool the air by allowing the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve to flow through the air conditioning device; and   a heating operation mode wherein the refrigerant that has undergone heat exchange in the outdoor heat exchanger and the outflow path internal heat exchanger is compressed by the compressor, and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is introduced into the condenser to heat the air.   
     
     
         8 . The vehicle air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the material having the PTC property comprises barium titanate as a main component. 
     
     
         9 . The vehicle air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the dehumidifying layer further comprises an adsorbent having a function of adsorbing at least one selected from carbon dioxide and volatile components, and/or a catalyst. 
     
     
         10 . The vehicle air conditioning system according to  claim 6 , further comprising a detection portion capable of detecting fogging of glass in the vehicle interior, wherein the control unit executes the regeneration and regeneration mode when the fogging of the glass is detected, and the control unit executes the dehumidification mode when the fogging of the glass is not detected. 
     
     
         11 . The vehicle air conditioning system according to  claim 10 , wherein the detection portion detects the fogging of the glass based on a temperature and a humidity in the vehicle interior.